Undergarment



Nov. 29, 1938. A. N. OPPENHEIM 2,138,643

UNDERGARMENT Filed June 4', 1938 INVENT ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 29, 1938 UNDERGARMENT Austin lNf'Oplnanhei'm, Brooklandville, Md., as-

signor to The B. `V. D. Corporation, New York, N. Y., a'corporation of Delaware Animation June 4, 1938, serial No.32`11,754

4 Claims.

This invention relates to nether garments having a front opening defined byl edges held in overlapping relation when vtlegarrnent i,s worn, and is concerned more particularly with a garment of the .type referred to in which novel means are provided for securing togetherthe edges of the'opening. A garmentembodying the invention may take various forms, such as mens shorts, underdrawers, etc., but for purposes of explanation, an adaptation of the invention in the form of vshorts will be illustrated and vdescribed in detail. v V

Mens shorts, as now commonly constructed, include `leg members and a waist band `Whichis usually wider in the front than at the back. .In one form' of garment, the leg members are separated at the rear by any inserted panel, while in another type, the leg members are connected together along a rear seam. In these garments, the leg members areshapedto provide overlapping edges' at the front, and the ends of the Waist band are'aligned with the edges of the respectiveleg vmembers, and with them define .thel edges of the front opening. In order to close the front opening, it has been customaryheretofore to provide buttons and buttonholes on the edges of. the

opening, but thisfexpedient has not been wholly being broken in laundering, etc. Y,

vMore recently,fthe means used for closing the front opening of such garments have beenzcosatisfactory because of the buttons coming off,

operating snap fastener elements, each of these elements consisting of apalr of` parts lying against opposite faces of the. member on which they are mounted andy connected together through'the member. Such fastener elements are much more convenient .and desirablethan buttons'but since theyl are of metal, objections have been raised to the mounting-of the mem bers on the garment in such away that therear parts of the elements are likely to come in. contact with the skin. I,

The present invention is, accordingly, directed to the provision ofa front., opening nether garment in which snap fastener elements areemployed for closing the opening, these elements being mounted in place, however, in suchv fashion that no part thereof lies in vexposed position on the inside of the garment. In the new garment, the fastener elements which areto bel mounted on the underlying edge of the front opening, are attached to the Waist band along the end thereof before 4the band is secured in its final position, and thev rear portions of the elements are then concealed by a portion of the band or a portion of the edge ofthe leg'member. yIn this way, those `portions of lthe elementsY which Vwould ordinarily lie exposed on the inner surface of the garment are ycovered by fabric and -kept from contacting with the body of the wearer.

` For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying ldrawing, inwhich Figure 1 is a viewin perspective of one type of shorts provided with the new closure means; i

Figures 2, 3 land. 4 are fragmentai'y'plan views illustrating different stages in the operation of attaching the fastener elements on 'one edge `ofl the front opening; and *Figure 5 is an enlarged-sectional View on the linel 5-5 ofv Figure 4.

Referring to the drawing, the shorts illustrated in Figure l'comprise leg members ID and II and a seat panel I2, these parts being of conventional construction-and 'secured together inI the usuali- Way. At theV front of the shorts, the front. edges of the leg members are secured together along an l inseam' and up to the point-I3, abovewhich, the ,members are provided with Verticaledges I4, I5 adapted to lie in overlapping relation. At'the Itop of the leg members isa waistband,` here illustratedas made up of twoy sectionsla, I6b3-se cured together at the'` back, and the waist: band hasend edges I'I, I8 which liein alignment with the ,edges-fi I4 and.'` I5, respectively. 'The front opening. of the garment, defined by the edges I4, I'If-and I5, I8, may be closed by. a plurality of rco'- operating snap fastener elements I9, 20, secured Yto the garment along the edges referred to.l l' i Inthevmanufacture of the new garment, thel several `parts-thereof are cut fromv 'asuitable fabric and'then stitched together in a seriesof operations, in'accordance with standard practice. In the completed garment, the Waist b-and is connected to thetop edge of the leg members, eX- -tendsupwardly therefrom to a lineof folding and vthen downward to overlie the'fron't surfaceof the vleg members. Accordingly, beforeV attachment of Athe waist band, the vertical edges of the leg sections at the opening are first' hemmed as indicated at 2I, and the end edge 22 of a waist band section, such as IBa, is folded back upon itself.

stitched in place. After these operations have been completed, the snap fastener elements are mounted on the hemmed vertical edge of the section I6a. The elements I9, which are mounted on the underlying edge of the front opening, are of the stud type, and each such element includes a rear part I9a which is pl-aced against the front surface of the' hemmed edge of section I6a, as shown in Figure 3, and a front. part I9b placed against the bottom surface of the hemmed edge. VOne of the parts I9a, I9b is provided with means which may penetrate the fabric between the parts and be interlocked with the otherpart, and the parts are attached to opposite faces of the edge of section Ilia by the usual operations.

After the fastener elementshave thus been*v securedl to section I6a, the latter is folded upon itself, as indicated at ,the arrow. (Fig. 3), so that the curved edge 26 thereof overlies the front of the leg member. With the parts in this condition, the downward fold 21a of the section 16a is secured to the upward fold 2'Ib and to the hem 2| of the legk member I I by a line of stitching 28, and the curvededge of the section I6a is secured to the leg member by stitching 29. When theseA operations have been completed, the parts I9b of the fastener elements,which are provided with'studs 30, lie exposed on the front surface of the waist band section, but the parts I9a are concealed by the fold 2lb of the waist band section and by the hem 2I of `theleg member. The parts I9a are thus kept from contact with the skin of the wearer. In attaching the section IBb of the waist band to the leg member I0, similar operations are carried on, except that the fastener elcments 20 mounted on section I6b are of lthe socket type and bot-h parts of these elements may be exposed. Accordingly, the elements 20 are not mounted on the waist band until the latter has been folded and secured in final position on the leg member I0.

.With the arrangement described, the snap fastener elements are securely held in place and are not likelyto tear loose, since the front and rear portions thereof are connected through a plurality of layers of fabric. Invgarments made of most fabrics, it isldesirable to provide reinforcements for those parts of the garmentto which-thefastener elements are attached, and'this can `'easily be done by the insertion of thereinforcing strips inthe folds at the ends of the waistbandsections before the sections are attached to theleg members. In some cases, however, the fabric of which the garment is mademay be sufficiently strong .and of closeenough weave to avoid the necessity of. using thereinforcing means. In all instances, the -rear parts'of the `fastener elements attached rto the underlying edge of the front opening are concealed and kept from contact vwith thev body. of the wearer, and because of the attachment of the elementsv b y the method described, the desired result is obtained at no additional cost exceptfor the reinforcing strips, when they are used. Y Since such strips are wholly concealed, they may `be made of Waste material and their cost is, therefore, negligible.

' Iclaim: Y

1..A nether garment having a front opening which comprises Yleg members having verticalA edges partly defining said opening and adapted to overlap, awaist band secured to the top of the leg members and folded to overlie the faces of the members at the front of the garment and secured thereto below the top, the end edges of the waist band being aligned with the vertical edges of the respective leg members and partly defining said front opening, and cooperating fastener elements mounted on the ends of the waist band to close said front opening, each element on the underlying end consisting of parts lying, respectively, against the inner andouter faces of the overlying portion of vvthe waist band and connected through said band, the parts lying against the inner face of the band being concealed by the portion of the garment upon which the waist band is folded.

21A nether garment having a front opening which comprises leg members having vertical edges partly dening said opening and adapted to overlap, a waist band secured to the top of the leg members and folded to overlie the faces of the members v,at the front of the garment and secured to said members below the top thereof, the band having end edges with hems aligned with the vertical edges of the respective leg Amembers and partly defining the front opening. and cooperating fastener elements on said `waistband hems for securing said hems together in overlapping relation,`each element on the underlying hem consist-' ing of a'pair ofparts 'lying respectively against the inner and outer faces of said hem and connected together through the hem, the parts lying Y against the inner face of the heml being concealed by the` portion of the garment upon which the waist band is folded. f

3. A nether garment 'having a front opening `which comprises leg `members having vertical edges partly defining said opening and adapted to overlap, a waist band secured tothe top of theleg members and folded to overlie the faces of vthe members at the front of the garment and secured to the leg members below the top thereof, the band having" end-"edgesl with hems aligned with the.

.vertical 'edges Aof' the respective legmembe'rs and partly deilningthe front opening, a vreinforce- Vment'within'the hem of the underlying end of the waist band, and cooperating fastener elementsV on the hems for securing said hems together in over lapping relation,'each element on the underlying hemconsisting of a lp air` of parts lying,` respectively, against the' inner and outer faces of said hem and connected together therethrough, the parts lying against `theY inner face of the hem being concealed by a portion of the garment upon which the waist band is folded.

the underlying end of the waist band', and cooperating snap fastener elements on the hems' for 4securing said hems together in overlapping relation, the elements onthe underlying hem each consisting of a pair of partselying against opposite faces of the hemy and connected throughthe hem and its reinforcement, the fparts lying against the rear face of the hem being concealed by the portion of the 'garment upon which the waist band is folded, each element on the overlying hem consisting of a pair of parts lying against `opposite faces of said hem and connected therethrough.

AUSTIN N. OPPENHEIM. 

